Walk 49: Aberdyfi to Llwyngwril

Having not walked quite as far as we’d hoped to on our Easter 2024 trip to Borth, we headed to West Wales for a weekend in April to walk from Aberdyfi to Llwyngwril. On the morning of our walk, we drove to Llwyngwril station and jumped on the train, getting off at Aberdyfi, where we had finished our previous walk.

The first half of this 12-mile walk was flat, beginning with a stroll along Aberdyfi Beach. As the southern end of the beach is at the mouth of the estuary, we struggled to find a section of sand that was easy to walk along – dry sand is always tricky, but the wet sand was almost as bad, as our feet sank into it with each step.

The walking became a bit easier as we continued along the beach, but this section was a bit of a workout, particularly as, taking advantage of the flat, we were walking at a decent pace. Thankfully, other than being a bit hard on the legs, this was a lovely stroll – the weather was nice and the beach looked beautiful.

After about three miles, we left the beach and walked along a paved section into Tywyn. We grabbed a cuppa from a local café before continuing along the road towards Pont Tonfanau, a 50-metre footbridge built especially for the Wales Coast Path, allowing people to cross the Afon Dysynni estuary. We enjoyed lovely views of the Snowdonia mountains as we walked this section and along to Tonfanau station.

We stopped off for a sandwich at Tonfanau station. By this point, we were six miles and only a couple of hours into our walk, but getting quite tired as we’d powered through. With the next train due in an hours’ time, there was no danger of us accidentally being responsible for the train stopping at this request-stop station!

After continuing up the road for a while, the path then took us through a very muddy section, which we navigated by using a wooden rail as a tightrope, before heading through a gate into a field. We tried our best not to scare the lambs as we walked – it’s always bittersweet seeing lambs, as it’s so lovely to see them playing with each other or sticking by their mum for comfort, but the only reason we get to enjoy so much ‘new life’ in the springtime is because their lives are cut so short.

After passing a couple of fields, we crossed an A-road and continued onto more farmland. There was a lovely path which took us past some fields through an archway trees. We were also treated to a little glimpse of the sea, which we hadn’t seen since we left Tywyn. Eventually, we reached the brow of a hill and all we could see was sea in front of us, all the way across to Barmouth and beyond.

After navigating a few fields, being careful to stay on the right side of the wall (we had to turn back a couple of times!), we were treated to views of Llwyngwril – our finishing destination. We had a bit of descent through a muddy field which was home to a horse, and just as we felt like we were home and dry, the path took us on probably the toughest ascent of the day, up a track and into another field.

By this point, our legs were very tired and we were ready to get back to the car! We walked through a couple more fields with more lovely views, and then on a track through a farm, where we got to enjoy more lambs being gorgeous (we gave the lambs chilling out on the track a wide berth as we didn’t want to disturb their afternoon snooze!). Finally, we headed down the road into Llwyngwril and to the station to find our car.

This was an interesting walk, with lovely views and some enjoyable beach walking. In many ways, the walk felt easy and went quickly – but our legs were aching much more than usual by the end, thanks, I think, to the tricky terrain on the beach. Nonetheless, this was a good day of walking!

🥾 Distance: 12 miles.

⭐ Highlight: Lots of lovely views, and lots of lovely lambs.

👎 Less Good: The beach walking took it out of us a bit!

🚗 Transport: We parked in Llwyngwril and got the train to Aberdyfi, before walking back to the car.

🛏️ Accommodation: This was the first of quite a few walks where we were able to stay at my grandparents' holiday cottage in Harlech, which is one of my favourite places to be!

🌱 Food: We had an amazing dinner at the Foxglove in Barmouth, which has now sadly closed.

🗺️ Map: This route is featured in the official Snowdonia and Ceredigion Coast guide.

Still not convinced? Read my ten reasons to walk the Wales Coast Path. If you’re ready to start planning your walk, you can find lots of resources to help you on your way here. Please note, I collect a share of the sales from the links on this page.